Category: Photo Log

July 16-25, 2014

This was our only stop in The Cook Islands. It is a national park, and there are no permanent residents, but a park ranger watches after the place during the cruising season. We were there with a fun group of boats and enjoyed many beach social gatherings

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Logbook – July 16, 2014 (Mopelia to Suwarrow)

Passage Log Highlights

• 0900 Bora Bora Net – 8122 – S/V Novae en route to Mopelia
• 1305 Engines on
• 1318 Depart Mopelia
• VHF call to S/V Novae – Saw them on AIS approaching. Called to give them pass info. Talked to Stephano.
• VHF call from S/V Novae – They changed their minds and will travel with us. Also a cat. 49′ in length.
• 1425 Engines off. Main + Genniker
• 1456 VHH all – Dances with Dragons broadcast “no wind.” I responded back, he is NW of us and headed to Fiji.
• 1600 mini-net 6212 – Net control = Lady Carolina in Suwarrow. Light Copy. Wiped out wind transducer – had to reboot.
• 1800 Underway net 8122
• 1818 Port engine on to charge batteries
• 1848 Port engine + Main
• VHF broadcast from Dances with Dragons – nice moonrise
• 2308 VHF call to Novae – wanted to make sure they saw the small fishing vessel in front of them. Tim spoke with Helen. Novae is 3 nmi off our Port stern

Daily Notes

• Swapped propane tank
• Boys caught a wahoo while I was off watch

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Email to family and friends dated July 16, 2014

Subject: Exodus – Au Revoir French Polynesia

We departed Mopelia this afternoon and, therefore, have departed French Polynesia. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Mopelia, it really had everything to offer… good snorkling, friendly people, running trail, beautiful remote surroundings, and lobster. Last night Alex and Tim went with Hio to gather lobster. This was a very different lobster operation than they are used to. They basically walked FOREVER on the reef in knee to thigh high water and grabbed lobsters when they saw them. But there weren’t that many, so it was a lot of looking and not a lot of grabbing. I think Tim got two, but Hio gave us four for our family. Both Tim and Alex said it really was not fun at all, but hey, at least we have lobster. We have very little wind right now, so we are creeping along at about 3 kts. We are not sure if we are going to go all the way to Pago Pago or if we will stop in Suwarrow. It will depend on weather and if we can make it to Pago Pago before the next front approaches. Right now that looks unlikely, but we will keep watching. We have two other boats out here with us that we have talked to on VHF. There are also a whole slew of boats on passage from Bora Bora to Suwarrow that we talk to on SSB morning and evening. So, we are far from alone out here.
Love and miss you all,
-D.

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Logbook – July 17, 2014 (Mopelia to Suwarrow)

Passage Log Highlights

• 0028 VHF call from Dances with Dragons – having engine trouble (low oil pressure) – may divert to Pago Pago instead of Fiji
• 0035 VHF call from Dances with Dragons – restarted engine. pressure looks good. suspects it’s the gauge. will likely still go to Fiji.
• 0126 – fish on, wahoo. threw back.
• 0625 P engine off. Genniker only.
• 0730 Mini-net 6212 kHz. TBV checked in from Suwarrow.
• 0756 VHF call to Dances with Dragons. No response.
• 0800 Isabela net. Lochmaren from Papeete. Checked in and requested traffic with Code Blue. Talked w/ Judy. Bad propagation. Got relay help from S/V Sequoia.
• 1157 VHF call from Novae. They didn’t copy our replay.

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Email to family and friends dated July 17, 2014

Subject: Exouds – Creeping along

The forecast was for very little wind, and it has been spot on. We motor sailed most of the night, but now that the batteries are charged we decided it was time to give it a rest. So, no we are moving along at a not unrespectable 3.3 kts, under headsail alone.
The highlight is the guys caught 2 wahoo. Well, the second one hooked on my watch, and I had to wake Tim up when the line started paying out. So, fresh washoo for dinner tonight!
Love and miss you all,
-D.

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Logbook – July 18, 2014 (Mopelia to Suwarrow)

Passage Log Highlights

• 0730 Mini-net. Net controller = Me
• 0815 Genniker + genoa. Squalls all around.
• Max TWS 19.5 kts E

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Email to family and friends dated July 18, 2014

Subject: Exoudus – Fishes

Not much to report here, other than the Wahoo we caught night before last turned out not to be a wahoo but a barracuda. So, last night the guys caught a “yellow fin tuna” but since I haven’t inspected the meat myself yet I am reluctant to report that with any sort of certainty. And for the record, Brenden says he never thought it was a Wahoo, he said the eyes were too big, the teeth too big, the tail too small, and the stripes not quite right. So, when he says he actually thinks it was a Barracuda, I’m gonna go with that. We ate it, and it was pretty tasty, more juicy like Dorado than Wahoo. If it really is a Yellow Fin, we will be dining on Sashimi for lunch. It has been such a long time, since the Marquesas, since we’ve had tuna. Everything else is well on board.
Love and miss you all.
-D.

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Logbook – July 19, 2014 (Mopelia to Suwarrow)

Passage Log Highlights

• 0730 Mini-net – Net Control = Lady Carolina. Chara just off the tip of Huahine.
• 0910 VHF call from Estrellita. They did not copy our resonse.

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Email to family and friends dated July 19, 2014

Subject: Exodus – Headed for Suwarrow

Well, the weather has determined that we are headed for Suwarrow. We will never make it to Pago Pago before the wind dies again in advance of the next front blowing through. So, that also means we may be stuck in Suwarrow longer than we want, but I suppose there are worse places to be stuck. We are about 105 miles out, and at our current speed we will arrive in the middle of the night tonight, so we will have to start thinking about slowing down soon. But the wind is supposed to die off a bit, so we don’t want to slow down TOO soon. Anyway, this has been a particularly uncomfortable passage. Certainly not your lovely downwind run with following seas. No, the seas are a confused mess and we get hit on the beam at random intervals which sets us rocking pretty good, so Brenden and I have been down for the count most of the time, not sick, just not right. This morning is the closest I’ve felt to my normal self since the winds picked up about a day and a half in. It WAS a yellow fin tuna, by the way, and we have still enjoyed sashimi and tuna steaks, and if I’m up for it today I will make poke.
Love and miss you all,
-D.

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Logbook – July 20, 2014 (Mopelia to Suwarrow)

Passage Log Highlights

• 0002 Genniker only
• 1400 Genoa only
• 2356 Genoa only (2 reefs) TWS 13.3 kts E

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Logbook – July 21, 2014 (Mopelia to Suwarrow)

Passage Log Highlights

• 0659 Land ho! Genoa (3 reefs) TWS 18.8 kts E
• 0854 Engines on
• 1014 A/B log – no sails
• 1054 Engines off Suwarrow

Daily Notes

• Potluck on beach w/ Tulu, The Southern Cross, Kiyf (?), Novae, Sundancer II, Jacfar, Shakti, Ui (kid boat from Germany with 2 girls), Mahi Mahi

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Email to family and friends dated July 21, 2014

Subject: Exodus – Approaching Suwarrow

We are about 3 miles out from the pass entrance, so we should have anchor down soon. (I’ll make a post to facebook via the inReach when we have anchor down.) We are really looking forward to arriving.
It was a little sad this morning, because we realized that our PPJ convoy of buddy boats is totally dispersed right now. Chara is still back in the Societies (they have a 1 year visa for French Poly), Lady Carolina is in Pago Pago (American Samoa) and True Blue V is in Apia (Western Somoa). We will still keep in touch daily via SSB and we hope to reconverge eventually in Tonga. Hopefully Fluenta will catch us there as well. We are making new friends while out on our own, but sadly, no kid boats. Luckily Alex and Brenden keep each other entertained pretty well. Extremely well, actually.
Love and miss you all,
-D.

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Email to family and friends dated July 21, 2014

Subject: Exodus – Anchor down in Suwarrow

Like Mopelia and the Tuamotus, Suwarrow is an atoll, but the pass is about as straightforward as they come, with the exception of not being marked at all. So, we rely on our charts, the reports of other cruisers, and most importantly, our eyes to find the coral shelves that lie on each side. We had a bit of a false start though, because we got just about to the pass entrance when we realized our depth sensor wasn’t working. Abort, Abort! We turned around, power cycled all of the nav electronics, because sometimes when we transmit on certain frequencies with the SSB it wipes out our wind transducer, so we thought maybe that happened to the depth one. No, that wasn’t it. We figured out by slowly approaching that we just weren’t picking up depths greater than about 45 ft. So, we went through the pass, and when Tim was in the water checking our anchor, he also cleaned the depth sensor. I’m not sure if he tested it though… maybe I should do that today.
All is well in Suwarrow, it’s very pretty here, just like everywhere else. It’s a lot more crowded than Mopelia, though, as we are here with 9 other boats. We had a potluck on the beach last night and it was fun meeting everyone I’ve been talking to on the radio over the past few days. Tim and I were pretty tired though after the passage, so we turned in early.
There is another kid boat here from Germany, and they have two young girls, and so yesterday after we got here Tim bribed the boys to go take the girls dinghy surfing. It’s too bad that we still have to bribe them to do stuff like that.
Love and miss you all,
-D.

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Logbook – July 22, 2014 (Suwarrow)

Daily Notes

• Happy hour on Novae with The Southern Cross, Sundancer II, Shakti, and True Blue
• Boys play on shore with girls from Uui

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Logbook – July 23, 2014 (Suwarrow)

Daily Notes

• T – snorkel w/ Stephano (Novae) & True Blue to manta cleaning station and off southern reef
• D – run around the motu
• B-day celebration for Mike on Shakti. B and the Ui girls built habitats for hermit crabs. Brenden calls his a “sanctuary”

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Email to family and friends dated July 23, 2014

Subject: Exodus – More Suwarrow Fun

Suwarrow has turned out to be a lot of fun. We had a happy hour yesterday evening on Novae, which is a 49 ft catamaran and makes Exodus look like a tiny shack. They are an Italian and a Scot who immigrated to Australia 27 years ago, so their allegiance lies with the Aussies. Tim went snorkeling with Stephano (from Novae) and some other folks today while I went “running” and the boys did their school work. He said it was really nice, so we’ll probably go out as a family tomorrow morning. I put “running” in quotes because while I did circumnavigate the main motu here 1.5 times, it was more like run/hiking since half the way around running was pretty much impossible due to the coral terrain. We just got back to the boat after a birthday celebration for one of the other cruisers, and we are getting ready to prepare our lobsters from Mopelia for dinner…. mmm…. (Sorry, LC. We only have four lobsters, I’m sure if we got more we would save them and share…)
Love and miss you all,
-D.

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Logbook – July 24, 2014 (Suwarrow)

Daily Notes

• Family snorkel – 1 manta ray ~ 10 ft. Beautiful
• Another potluck – new boats True Blue, Upon the Wind, Pamela, Moonjoos (w/ 15-year-old Cameron), La Rochelle

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Logbook – July 25, 2014 (Suwarrow)

Daily Notes

• T – snorkel w/ Stephano. Amazing clarity.
• D – passage preps, crazy run in the heat. Swig of rum from the guys on Moonjoos
• A/B – crabitats on shore

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Email to family and friends dated July 25, 2014

Subject: Exodus – Heading out tomorrow, probably

The wind is supposed to pick up late in the day tomorrow, so we think we will make our exit from Suwarrow. We had another potluck on the beach last night and a lot of new boats have come in, including one from South Africa with a 15 yr old boy on it. Alex is hanging out with him on shore right now, but I think Brenden is building “crabitats.” Crab habitats, duh. There is an abundance of hermit crabs here. Our next stop will likely be Pago Pago, American Samoa, but we might play it by ear and make the final decision en route. If it ends up we would arrive at Pago pago at night, then rather than slow down or wait, maybe we’ll just keep going to Apia, Western Samoa. We hear the provisioning and everything there is quite good too, and it has a better anchorage.
Love and miss you all,
-D.

July 7-15, 2014

Mopelia was our last stop in French Polynesia. It is a small atoll with a population of about 20 people. We stayed over a week, and we loved it.

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Logbook – July 7, 2014 (Maupiti to Mopelia)

Passage Log Highlights

• 1540 Engines on
• 1550 Depart
• 1625 Engines off
• SB battery low voltage warning
• 1707 Genoa + genniker – TWS 8.8 kts E

Daily Notes

• Battery charger inverter acting up. At 12.1 V, gen on, and charger goes up to 13.2V then quickly up to 13.5 to _____ then goes right into absorption mode (I know there is no way the bat bank is up to 80% yet…) AT 14V w/in 30 min
• Solar charger seems to be fine, but need to watch it closely

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Email to family and friends dated July 7, 2014

Subject: Exodus – Preparing to depart Maupiti

Good morning! We are currently anchored near the pass at Maupiti preparing for an afternoon departure. Yesterday, we did some snorkeling, but it certainly wasn’t Tuamotus quality. Perhaps I am ruined for life in this respect.
We are going to make a run back over to town in the dinghy today to pick up some supplies and mail to take to Mopelia. Our timing was just a little bad in that yesterday was Sunday, so we couldn’t take care of that while we were still anchored near the town. I have really enjoyed this little island, especially the running and hiking. Mopelia is about 100 miles away, so we expect to arrive about mid morning tomorrow.
Love and miss you all,
-D.

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Logbook – July 8, 2014 (Maupiti to Mopelia)

Passage Log Highlights

• 0518 Genniker only
• 1048 P engine on, Main (3 reefs) + genniker
• 1328 SB engine on
• 1409 Arrive
• 1430 Engines on to reanchor
• 1436 Reanchor complete

Daily Notes

• Lazy afternoon

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Email to family and friends dated July 8, 2014

Subject: Exodus – Arrived in Mopelia

We arrived yesterday about 2:30 in the afternoon, luckily the sun was still high enough to give us good lighting to enter the pass and navigate inside the lagoon. Tim drove while entering the pass, so I can only give you my perspective from up on the bow, and wow, was it ever narrow. There were coral shelves on either side, according to the guidebook it is 60 ft across at the narrowest point, and from where I stood, that felt generous. Tim was calling out current and depth as we went, and the max current we saw was 4 kts against us, but Exodus pushed through no problem. We are anchored in a pleasant spot that should provide a little protection as the winds clock around to the north. There really isn’t a weather window for heading to Surarrow any time in the forseeable forecast, so we may be here awhile. Too bad.
Love and miss you all,
-D.

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Logbook – July 9, 2014 (Mopelia)

Daily Notes

• D – paddle to shore & run. Met Harry.
• T/B snorkel

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Logbook – July 10, 2014 (Mopelia)

Daily Notes

• Snorkel on bombie near pass. Excellent visibility. Boys gathered many scallops. Tasty snack. No pearls.
• Dinner on shore with local family & 2 other boats. Faimano & Hio – brother/sister – spoke very good eEnglish

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Logbook – July 11, 2014 (Mopelia)

Daily Notes

• D – motu trail run
• T/A – on shore to help Hio w/ truck
• D/B – rescue surfboards

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Email to family and friends dated July 11, 2014

Subject: Exodus – Mopelia Adventures

We are having a wonderful time here in Mopelia. Yesterday morning we went for a snorkel on some coral heads near the pass and the visibility was excellent. Lots of reef fish and more than a few sharks as well. Then we drifted in the current towards the pass, the boys said there was an amazing number of fish. I finally got uncomfortable with how quickly we were moving to the rapids at the pass exit, so I was the party pooper that ruined the fun. The boys all collected several scallops which Alex wrestled open back at Exodus. They made a tasty afternoon snack lightly sauteed in some butter, garlic, and wine, but sadly, there were no pearls to be found. The guidebook says they used to farm pearls here, and all the buoys scattered about here seems to validate that. However, Tim talked to one of the other cruisers that said they only used to farm the scallops here. They never seeded them for pearls. They just grew the scallops and then sold them to the pearl farms in the Tuamotus. Who knew.

Shortly after we finished our scallop snack, a local boat approached with a young couple in it, and they invited us to their house for dinner. Turns out they are brother and sister, and we also met their other sister, mother, and father. They invited all 3 boats in the anchorage, so they prepared quite a feast of lobster, coconut crabs, scallops, rice, and hearts of palm salad. Brenden was crazy about everything, Alex not so much. We brought them some banana bread and popcorn and we also brought 2 bottles of wine and a bottle of juice to share. It was a very nice evening, but have I mentioned how I wish we spoke French!? Last night had to be the most I’ve wished this, because although family from Mopelia spoke quite a bit of English, all the other cruisers spoke French, so naturally, that is the language most of the conversation took place in. One of the girls was very sweet and she would translate for me now and then, especially when something was funny. One of the other boats brought a bottle of wine too, and I was disappointed that the cruisers all seemed to be drinking more wine than our hosts. Then, would you believe it, when our wine was gone they brought out a bottle of theirs to share and asked if we wanted to open it. Wine in French Polynesia is very expensive, and I can’t imagine they have a huge stock pile here on Mopelia, so my reaction was, no, no, no, that’s very kind, but no thank you. I was absolutely appalled that the other cruisers accepted and then proceeded to drink their wine!

Anyway, I think Tim will go lobster diving tonight with Hio, the young man who spoke quite a bit of English. We will likely stay a couple more days and will hopefully get to spend some more time with this family.

Love and miss you all,
-D.

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Email to family and friends dated July 11, 2014

Subject: Exodus – Front

A low pressure system passing south of us spawned a cold front extending to the northwest, and that front passed over us today. It brought strong winds that clocked to the west and a lot of rain. I managed to get in a motu trail run before the rain started, and Tim and Alex went to shore to help Hio repair the bed of his pick up truck. I guess lobster diving is off the agenda for tonight, given the weather.

While Brenden and I were “just relaxing on the boat” the shift from NW to W winds brought a strong gust of 30+ knots and the two surfboards blew off the top of Exodus into the water. We both jumped up, but Brenden once again proved he was a man of action. The paddle board was down, so he yelled at me to get him a paddle, but I was taking too long, and then I said it might be too hard to paddle in this wind, so he promptly stripped down naked and just jumped in. I told him to go for the board that was furthest away, and I would get on the paddle board to get the other one. In hindsight, I should have just jumped in too, because once I retrieved the board I was having trouble paddling, so Brenden had to take his board back to Exodus and the swim to me to get the other board. All this time we are getting pelted by strong rain. Tim and Alex showed up with the dinghy about 5 min later. I let Brenden take a much deserved warm shower.

I wrote a bit this morning about our dinner last night on shore, and I was so focused on the French conversation and the wine situation, I neglected to mention some really positive details:
-There was a young coconut at each place setting, and just before we sat down to eat Hio opened the very tip of each one with a machete. We drank the coconut water out of bendy straws. Nice touch.
-When Brenden FINALLY finished stuffing his face with all the tasty crustaceans, he noticed a small hermit crab at his feet, and he delightfully pointed it out. Then he looked outside and saw about 25 HUGE hermit crabs crawling about in the sand. Of course, he had to excuse himself from the table to go play with them.
-There is was a spectacular moonlit view of the beach and lagoon from their bathroom, which doesn’t have a door.

Good night from Mopelia. Love and miss you all,
-D.

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Logbook – July 12, 2014 (Mopelia)

Daily Notes

• Isabela net – new net starting Mon 14 July 1900Z (9am Tahiti) on 8122 khz. “Good by Bora Bora” Isabela net will persist.
• Radio traffic w/ Field Trip in Moorea
• T/A – dive & spearfish w/ Hio outside pass
• 20-25 kts wind + swells at night

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Email to family and friends dated July 12, 2014

Subject: Exodus – wet weather and shark encounters

We are still enjoying Mopelia, but the weather is still wet and gray, so it’s putting a bit of a damper on things. Tim and Alex went diving this morning with Hio, the young guy who lives here and speaks a fair amount of English, and the crew of s/v Refola, from Italy. Below is from an email Tim sent to his bro, but I got the OK to copy/paste here for everyone’s enjoyment. Except moms. Any moms reading this should stop reading now. Thank you.

Tim wrote:
Alex and I went with a local guy here outside the pass to snorkel on a WWI Navy shipwreck. Most of the ship is gone but you can still see some cannons, the anchor, and many big gun shells (brass shells last longer under water than the rest of the steel hull) embedded in the coral. Pretty cool. Heo, the local guy, said we shouldn’t spearfish near the pass since there are so many sharks there. I said, well, we can just take our spears along anyway, even if we don’t use them. (yea, sure…) We were only in the water 3-4 seconds before Heo says, “Give me my gun!” I look over and see a huge school of yellowtail-like fish. Heo shoots into the school, but misses. Within seconds, several sharks appear out of nowhere and start looking around… Good thing he missed. Later, he shot a small Jack and carried it back to the dinghy holding it above water so the sharks could not “hear” it struggling (vibrations, more than anything, of a struggling fish attract the sharks in a hurry). One fish in the dinghy, Heo saw a huge school of parrot fish, swam over and after looking around and seeing no sharks nearby, shot one. Hit in the belly, the parrot fish went nuts, swimming in circles on the spear. Within 2 seconds, three sharks appeared from behind the ridge of the reef and attacked the parrotfish. The first shark took half the fish, the second took the rest – no prize for third place. Within five seconds, 10 more sharks appeared in a frenzy. Heo had already let go of his spear gun and was swimming backwards but with no fish left to eat, the new sharks looked eagerly at anything moving in the water. I forced myself to relax and slowly removed my dive knife (I had just put my gun back in the dinghy, thinking we were done). As he kicked at a couple of small, curious sharks, I couldn’t help but smile in my snorkel, thinking that he should have listened to his own advice. Once back in the dinghy, his big smile made me laugh and he suggested that we go inside the reef to fish some more.

OK, moms can start reading again. And for your information, when you are simultaneously cooking dinner and listening to your husband tell a story about diving and sharks, and you accidentally pour 2 T. of paprika in the chili instead of 2 T. of chili powder, it’s all good. It’s still edible.

Love and miss you all,
-D.

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Logbook – July 13, 2014 (Mopelia)

Daily Notes

• Rainy, lazy day. T-read about Tonga, D-worked on movies. A/B – who knows!!

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Logbook – July 14, 2014 (Mopelia)

Daily Notes

• Snorkel on WWII wreck on the reef
• Tim fixed SB macerator & cleaned out port bilgs
• About 8 sharks + remoras hang out by Exodus

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Logbook – July 15, 2014 (Mopelia)

Daily Notes

• D – run on coral
• T/A – lobster gathering w/ Hio

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Email to family and friends dated July 15, 2014

Subject: Exodus – Dive on a wreck in Mopelia

We had a great day here in Mopelia yesterday. The weather finally broke, and we had a light breeze and sunshine, so we donned our dive gear and went out to the shallows to the east side of the pass to snorkle around a WWII Japanese Navy boat wreck. It is in very shallow water, about 10 ft at most, and the clarity and marine life was some of the best we’ve seen. We are not sure when we will leave, but likely not today, since Tim was invited to go lobster diving with Hio tonight.
Love and miss you all,
-D.

July 3-6, 2014

Maupiti is one of the few Society Islands west of Bora Bora. It is much more remote, so it is far less crowded and noisy.

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Logbook – July 3, 2014 (Bora Bora to Maupiti)

Passage Log Highlights

• 0528 Engines on
• 0537 Depart
• 0601 P engine off
• 0633 SB engine off. Genoa (port) + Genniker (SB)
• 1132 Engines onn
• 1230 Arrive Maupiti

Daily Notes

• SB head exit macerator bolt broken. Boo. >:-(
• Pass not too bad – max 2.5-3 kts current out. Narrow channel to town, but well-marked. 2 other boats here including another Lagoon 400.

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Email to family and friends dated July 3, 2014

Subject: Maupiti

We dropped anchor near the village in Maupiti yesterday just after noon. It’s a refreshingly quiet place after the noise of Bora Bora. Noticeably absent are the numerous power boats speeding past you jostling you with their wakes. There are only 2 other sailboats here at anchor with them, and one of them is another Lagoon 400. So, yesterday afternoon as Alex and I were finishing up school, Tim and Brenden went over to say hi. They are a couple from France and this is their second time cruising the South Pacific and their second time at Maupiti, so they were able to give us the lay of the land. We think we are going to go for a hike today, but Tim seems to be getting sick (sore throat) so we’ll have to see how he feels when he gets up. The pass to get in was pretty easy after all the hype about how tricky it could be. There were probably 1.5 meter breaking waves against the reef, but nothing breaking at the pass entrance. A panga (they don’t call them those here, but Mexico is hard to shake…) came out of the pass and we were able to observe that the waves just inside the entrance were pretty small, and when they came out they waved us in and gave us the thumbs up. We had about 2.5 knots of current against us going in, but nothing Exodus can’t handle. The channel inside the lagoon leading to the town was pretty narrow, but very well marked, so it was no problem either.
Love and miss you all,
-D.

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Logbook – July 4, 2014 (Maupiti)

Daily Notes

• Amazing hike up to the top of the mountain
• Met Carol & Livia from SV Estrelita. Friends w/ Fluenta.
• Met David & Dajero SV Ka____ (?) – Lagoon 400 2012

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Logbook – July 5, 2014 (Maupiti)

Daily Notes

• Nothing recorded

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Email to family and friends dated July 5, 2014

Subject: Exodus – Amazing hike

Yesterday, we celebrated American Independence Day with a hike up to the top of the island of Maupiti. It was about the hardest hike we’ve done so far, but it was well worth it because the views were spectacular, especially the view over the smaller peak out towards the pass into the lagoon. The 2 other boats in the anchorage with us both came by to wish us “Happy American Day” and imagine our surprise when one of them tells us, “Fluenta says hi!” Such a small world. So, to all you Americans, Happy Belated American Day!
There’s one picture of the view from the top up on my blog (www.cruisingrunner.wordpress.com), but I’m still getting organized to get all the remaining Bora Bora and Maupiti pics up on facebook. I’ll need to get that done before we leave here, because I think after that we’ll be out of internet for awhile.
Love and miss you all,
-D.

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Logbook – July 6, 2014 (Maupiti – move near the pass)

Passage Log Highlights

• 1205 Engines on
• 1210 Depart
• 1238 Arrive near pass

Daily Notes

• D – run to the other side of the island. Internet morning.
• Move anchorages. Mediocre snorkel.
• Fishy Dorado for dinner

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June 24 – July 2, 20214

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Logbook – June 24, 2014 (Huahine to Bora Bora)

Passage Log Highlights

• 1756 Engines on
• 1800 Depart Huahine
• 1823 Engines off
• 2305 T –> D Main (2 reefs) + genoa (3 reefs) TWS 13 kts NE

Daily Notes

• Kyle’s last exam
• Alex test lesson 40

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Email to family and friends dated June 24, 2014

Subject: Bora Bora

Hey all, just a quick note to let you know we are headed to Bora Bora tonight. It’s only 50 miles, so we’ll be heavily reefed so we don’t arrive before daybreak.
Love and miss you all.
-D

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Logbook – June 25, 2014 (Huahine to Bora Bora)

Passage Log Highlights

• 0551 Genoa (3 reefs) – waiting for daylight
• 0624 Engines on
• 0808 Engines off, arrive bora Bora

Daily Notes

• Kicked out of the Hilton
• Boys to dinner on LC. D/T quiet evening
• T put gas in dinghy tank & generator

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Logbook – June 26, 2014 (Bora Bora Toopua)

Daily Notes

• D – paddle between the motus
• T – 1 mile (each way!) paddle to next reef. Lots of cool fish and coral heads. Note to self: Never do that again.
• Ceasars and Apples to Apples w/ LC

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Logbook – June 27, 2014 (Bora Bora Toopua)

Daily Notes

• Lazy rainy day

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Email to family and friends dated June 27, 2014

Subject: Exodus – Bora Bora…

… as exclusive as you would expect. Our anchorage is beautiful, but no more so than Huahine. And as for dramatic, volcanic landscape, Moorea was much prettier. But if you want an exclusive vacation where they don’t let vagabond crusiers wander around the resort, then this is your place.
We’ll visit the town on the main island early next week where there’s a public dock where the little people can go.
Love and miss you all,
-D.

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Logbook – June 28, 2014 (Toopua to E. Corner)

Passage Log Highlights

• 0935 Engines on
• 0945 Depart
• 1015 Arrive near pass
• Depart
• 1625 Arrive E. Corner

Daily Notes

• Boys dove pass and reef

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Logbook – June 29, 2014 (E. Corner to South)

Passage Log Highlights

• 1230 Engines On
• 1236 Depart – floated and waited for LC
• 1357 Arrive Bora Bora South

Daily Notes

• Tim & Alex – snorkel south reef w/ LC (Steve, Carolina, Joel) – tow A & J behind dinghy, beautify clear water
• Filled generator gas

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Email to family and friends dated June 29, 2014

Subject: Exodus – getting ready to leave Bora Bora

Our French Polynesia visas expire in 2 days, so we are heading to the main town here in Bora Bora to clear out and take care of all the usual chores (laundry, provisions, fuel…) We’ve moved around quite a bit within the lagoon here, and we currently find ourselves at the SW tip. It’s a wonderfully calm morning, the water is like glass, and the sun is coming up. Another front is supposed to pass today, so I’m not sure if there will be wind and rain later today, but for now, it is very serene.
Love and miss you all,
-D.

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Logbook – June 30, 2014 (Bora Bora South to Vaitape)

Passage Log Highlights

• 0820 Depart
• 1045 Arrive Vaitape

Daily Notes

• Mooring balls full

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Logbook – July 1, 2014 (Vaitape)

Daily Notes

• Nothing recorded

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Logbook – July 2, 2014 (Vaitape)

Daily Notes

• Final preps to leave
• Steve’s b-day part

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Email to family and friends dated July 2, 2014

Subject: Exodus – Underway tomorrow

Just wanted to send a quick note to let you know we plan to leave Bora Bora for Maupiti early tomorrow morning. It is only about 25 miles, but the pass is quite tricky, so if we decide not to go through, or we go through and decide not to stay, we’ll be heading another 100 miles to Mopelia. Both islands are still in French Polynesia, so technically we’ll be illegally staying past our visa. Shhhh….
Love and miss you all,
-D.

June 18-23, 2014

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Logbook – June 18, 2014 (Moorea to Huahine)

Passage Log Highlights

• 1840 Engines on
• 1845 Depart
• 2018 Engines off
• 2310 Genoa only
• Min TWS – 4.4 kts S
• Max TWS – 15.4 kts E

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Logbook – June 19, 2014 (Moorea to Huahine)

Passage Log Highlights

• 0200 D–>T Genoa only
• 0722 Heading change & jybe for sun
• 0900 Fish on! Tuna
• 1120 SB engine on
• 1146 Pt engine on
• 1227 Arrive Huahine Fare
• Min TWS 16.2 kts NE
• Max TWS 20.1 kts E

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Email to family and friends dated June 19, 2014

Subject: Exouds – Headed to Huahine

We pulled up anchor just after dark yesterday to head from Moorea to Huahine. We used our GPS track when we entered the pass to help us get out, but it was about as easy as a night departure can be. We are currently about 10 miles from the island but then we are going to head around to the West side to anchorages over there. I just changed course and jibed so that we would have sun on the solar panel, so we are now going to head around the south end of Huahine rather than the north. Of course, now there’s a big fat cloud sitting over the sun, so it’s mostly for naught. I had a little excitement on my watch last night in that we were sandwiched between two large cargo ships going in opposite directions. They each passed within 2-2.5 miles of us, so I was really enjoying the AIS receiver right about then.
Will check in in a day or two and let you know how Huahine is.
Love and miss you all,
-D.

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Logbook – June 20, 2014 (Huahine Fare)

Daily Notes

• Alex/Mom – same height!
• Rented bikes – rode around the island. Saw the ruins & the blue eyed sacred eels in Faie
• Happy hour with LC

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Logbook – June 21, 2014 (Huahine Fare to Huahine Avea)

Passage Log Highlights

• 1113 Engines on, depart Fare
• 1133 SB engine off
• 1309 SB engine on
• 1335 Arrive Avea

Daily Notes

• Move to Avea – D paddle board, T paddle & take depth soundings. Some cats anchored in 5.3 ft!
• Potluck on Exodus w/ LC & TBV

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Logbook – June 22, 2014 (Huahine Avea)

Daily Notes

• Running blog
• T/Steve – dive around the pass
• “Happy Hour” not so happy

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Email to family and friends dated June 22, 2014

Subject: Huahine

We’ve had a great time here in Huahine so far. It’s far less touristy than Papeete or Moorea, but not quite as strikingly beautiful and Moorea. We anchored first off the town of Fare and rented bicycles for a day in order to bike around the island. I thought it was great fun, but we were all pretty pooped at the end of the day. Yesterday we moved anchorages down to the south of the island and it is gorgeous here. We now have less than 2 weeks before our French Polynesia visas expire, and we are having trouble deciding what to do. Stay tuned, I guess…
Love and miss you all,
-D.

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Logbook – June 23, 2014 (Huahine Avea to Huahine Fare)

Passage Log Highlights

• 1324 Engines on
• 1337 Depart
• 1352 P Engine off
• 1451 P Engine on
• 1507 Arrive Fare

Daily Notes

• Another happy hour in Fare

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June 11-17, 2014

Tahiti gets all the airplay, but its little sister Moorea, just 15 Nmi, away was much more of a highlight for us. OK, to be fair, the only place we went in Tahiti was Papeete, so I suppose that’s like judging California based solely on Los Angeles. We wanted to show Andrew a little more of what cruising is like, so we chose Moorea instead of staying in Papeete. We snorkeled, crashed hotel pools, swam with sting rays, hiked up to a lookout, and rented a car a drove around the island. OK, maybe we didn’t really show Andrew what cruising is like, since we weren’t doing any boat projects, but hopefully we gave him a good vacation. 

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Logbook – June 11, 2014 (Papeete to Moorea)

Passage Log Highlights

• 1021 Engines on
• 1030 Depart
• 1430 Arrive Baie d’Opunohu

Daily Notes

• Swapped propane (not quite empty)
• “Navigated” the dinghy through the coral to the Hilton in search of The Kings game. No luck, but we got good internet.

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Logbook – June 12, 2014 (Moorea)

Daily Notes

• Crappy snorkeling
• Football & soccer on the beach
• French bread pizza

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Logbook – June 13, 2014 (Moorea)

Daily Notes

• Rays & sharks
• Intercontinental pool
• KINGS WIN!!

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Logbook – June 14, 2014 (Moorea)

Daily Notes

• Moved anchor locations – inside the bay
• Soft mud – dragged before digging in
• Hike (walk along a road) up to the “Belvedere” view of both bays
• Stop for juice & sorbet along the way
• LC arrived – lobster potluck

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Email to family and friends dated June 14, 2014

Subject: Sting Rays and Sharks!

Yesterday the boys swam with sting rays and sharks. Photos are uploading to facebook even as I type this. Oh yeah, and some small insignificant thing happened yesterday too, like… KINGS WON THE STANLEY CUP!!!! We actually found a place to watch it, but then when it went into overtime we had to leave, because it gets dark here pretty early and we had to drive back in the dinghy along a narrow unlit channel (no fun in the dark). Luckily, when we got back to the boat the internet actually worked for once, and we were able to listen to the audio feed live. I think the entire anchorage must have heard us screaming when Martinez scored!
Anyway, we are having a blast with Andrew here and wish he could stay longer.
Love and miss you all.
-D.

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Logbook – June 15, 2014 (Moorea)

Daily Notes

• Rented a car – drive around the island
• Paddle boarding, craps

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Logbook – June 16, 2014 (Moorea)

Daily Notes

• Bye Andrew 😦
• Back to school 1/2 day
• Drinks w/ Ele & LC on Exodus – impromptu move to Ele for “The World’s Best Bloody Marys” and hot dogs

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Email to family and friends dated June 16, 2014

Subject: Still in Moorea

Andrew left this morning, so this is one sad momma. It was supposed to be back to school today, but Lady Carolina went to swim with the sting rays, so OF COURSE Alex and Brenden had to do it again to. We will likely leave Moorea tomorrow to head to Huahine, but we’ll see how today unfolds.
Love and miss you all,
-D.

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Logbook – June 17, 2014 (Moorea)

Daily Notes

• Rain, rain, rain!
• Moved back up by the Hilton

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June 4 – 10, 2014

Papeete is the capital of French Polynesia, and as such it is a one of those necessary evils for a cruiser. It’s crowded and noisy, but it also has large grocery stores, fuel, internet (theoretically), propane, laundry (theoretically), etc. Our highlights, in no particular order, were the beer, roulettes (food trucks, seriously), and ANDREW’S VISIT.

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Logbook – June 4, 2014 (Tahanea to Papeete)

Passage Log Highlights

• 0850 Depart
• 0920 Engines off, main (1 reef) + genoa – TWS 21.9 kts E
• 1606 Main (1 reef) + genoa (1 reef) – TWS 28 kts E
• 2307 T–> D main (2 reefs) + genoa (2 reefs) – TWS 23.1 kts NE

Daily Notes

• Heading and COG is in deg True from now on

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Email to family and friends dated June 4, 2014

Subject: Passage to Tahiti

We have spent our last night in The Tuamotus, because this morning we are heading for Tahiti. It will be about a 2 day passage and should mostly be following seas unlike our other multi-day passages around here. Andrew will be flying in to visit us on the 10th, so we want to get there a few days early to finish all the chores that always come with arriving in a major port (provisioning, laundry, etc.) We will raise anchor a little later this morning, after the SSB net, so now I’ll just enjoy my coffee and start getting ready to go.
Love and miss you all,
-D.

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Logbook – June 5, 2014 (Tahanea to Papeete)

Passage Log Highlights

• 0912 Main (2 reefs) + genoa (1 reef) – wing & wing – TWS 24.1 kts E
• 1520 Main (2 reefs) + genoa – TWS 17 kts E
• 1733 Main (2 reefs) + genoa + genniker – TWS 15 kts E
• 2120 P engine on (charge batteries)
• 2320 P engine off – drop main
• 2341 Genoa + genniker – TWS 11.2 kts NE

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Logbook – June 6, 2014 (Tahanea to Papeete)

Passage Log Highlights

• 0035 SB engine on
• 0247 SB engine + genoa – TWS 6.7 kts NE
• 1028 P engine on genoa furled
• 1134 Arrival at fuel dock
• 1158 Engines on & depart fuel dock
• 1231 Arrive anchorage

Daily Notes

• Andy – skipper of mega yacht we met at fuel dock

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Logbook – June 7, 2014 (Papeete)

Daily Notes

• Spirit of Ponta Preta (Lagoon 450) – Mom (Marina), Dad (??), two daughters 15 & 16 yrs
• Len & Erin s/v Maestro stopped by
• Happy hour @ Dinghy Bar w/ LC, TBV, Eleutheria, The Beguine, Maestro

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Email to family and friends dated June 7, 2014

Subject: Papeete

We made it to Papeete, the capital of Tahiti and French Polynesia, and holy wow big city with noise and traffic. There are so many boats on mooring balls and at anchor it reminds us of La Cruz or better yet, La Paz, because everyone is packed in along both sides of the channel. We haven’t really seen Papeete yet, just the marina area which is about 5 miles south of downtown. And unfortunately today will be taken up by more shopping and laundry, but maybe tomorrow we’ll get up early and go to the downtown market. Yesterday was Kyle’s birthday, so they made dinner brought steak and grilled it on Exodus to share. Brenden and Alex were dying for them to get over here to give Kyle his little birthday care package we put together for him. Then they had a minecraft night.
The passage from Tahanea was one of extremes in that the first night we had squall after squall and we were heavily reefed, and the second night the wind died and we had to motor. Transit and passage into the harbor and down the channel was easy. We just have to keep remembering green and red buoys are reversed here (green right return just doesn’t have the same ring to it.)
Love and miss you all,
-D.
P.S. Go Kings!

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Logbook – June 8, 2014 (Papeete)

Daily Notes

• T/Boys – McD’s for lunch, tour of Mondango, hang out w/ Maestro & Breeze
• D – Laundry & stow provisions

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Logbook – June 9, 2014 (Papeete)

Daily Notes

• Cold front passed today. Pouring rain – 25-35 kts. Eased up in the evening.
• Went to Roulette w/ Maestro & Breeze

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Logbook – June 10, 2014 (Papeete)

Daily Notes

• Andrew’s here! Dinghy to downtown Papeete. Gran Marche, Brew Pub, Roulette

May 30 – June 4, 2014

This was our last atoll in the Tuamotus, and sadly, I didn’t snap very many photos. The highlight of our visit isn’t even captured… we met 3 other kid boats!

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Logbook – May 30, 2014 (Makemo to Tahanea)

Passage Log Highlights

• 1630 Engines on
• Depart Makemo
• 1700 Through the pass
• 1708 Both engines off genoa only (3 reefs)

Daily Notes

• Alex sick – slept all morning. Vomiting in the night. Fever. Sore throat. 1550 – 102.6 deg fever. White tonsils.
• Anchor stuck – Tim had to dive. Brenden stepped it up (Alex sick).

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Logbook – May 31, 2014 (Makemo to Tahanea)

Passage Log Highlights

• 0528 Engines on. At the pass. Too dar.
• 0630 Arrive anchorage just inside pass
• 0848 Engines on
• Depart
• 1134 Arrive SE anchorage

Daily Notes

• 1st pass going against the current. Max 3 kt current.
• Moved across the atoll to meet up w/ 3 other kid boats: Field Trip, Daphne, Remi De
• Brenden & Kyle try to build a wind surfer
• Bonfire on the beach with all the kid boats

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Logbook – June 1, 2014 (Tahanea SE Anchorage)

Daily Notes

• Lost the rigid paddle board. Tim & Alex – dinghy ride from hell trying to find it.
• T/Steve – took all the kids to shore to build forts

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Email to friends and family dated June 1, 2014

Subject: Tahanea

We made it to Tahanea, another atoll in the Tuamotus, just at sunrise yesterday morning. It is only 48 miles from Makemo, so we had an intentionally long slow night with very little sail up so we wouldn’t arrive too early. Tahanea is an uninhabited atoll, and it is actually a national park to protect a type of rare bird, so we thought this would be the most remote of the atolls so far. But there are a lot of other cruisers here… 6 others in the anchorage with us, and 3 of them kid boats. We had a bonfire on the beach last night and met the other kid boats, all catamarans, all of which cruised the Caribbean and came through the Panama canal. There are 6 kids ranging in age from 6 to 12, 5 girls and 1 boy, so our 4 boys (Exodus and Lady Carolina) instantly evened the girl/boy score. I’m going to give the kids the day off from school, so they can play with their new friends.
Love and miss you all,
-D.

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Logbook – June 2, 2014 (Tahanea SE Anchorage)

Daily Notes

• “4-6pm” happy hour on Exodus. Kyle cooked pasta on LC for all the kids
• Isablea net – 8173 – 8am Tahiti time

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Logbook – June 3, 2014 (Tahanea SE Anchorage to Tahanea Pass)

Passage Log Highlights

• 0819 Engines on
• 0825 Depart
• 1049 Arrive @ pass anchorage

Daily Notes

• T/Steve/A/K – ride w/ locals (Phillip, Chris, and “The Boss”) to go find paddleboard. Unsuccessful.
• Steve is hooked on minecraft

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May 20-29, 2014

Makemo was a true highlight of our journey. Not for the beauty, not for the diving, but for the interaction we had with some of the people who live there. We don’t speak French, and I’ve never regretted it more, but we still had a rich experience. I hope to go back there some day.

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Logbook – May 20, 2014 (Raroia to Makemo)

Passage Log Highlights

• 1539 Engines on
• 1554 Depart
• 1622 Engines off main (1 reef) + genoa – TWS 10.3 kts SE

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Logbook – May 21, 2014 (Raroia to Makemo)

Passage Log Highlights

• 0618 Main (1 reef) + genoa (2 reefs)
• 0636 Engines on
• 0802 Arrival – tied to wharf

Daily Notes

• Pass – easy. Incoming tide – 3 kt of current. Tying to wharf challenging, Exodus has so much windage!
• Walk to town – 8 baguettes! Met lots of children – invited them to dock. Lots of playing, swimming, football, paddle boards. Kids all go play soccer
• B – sea urchin sting on finger
• Invited to go watch dancing – practice for festival (I think)

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Email to family and friends dated May 21, 2014

Subject: Makemo Arrival

We just arrived at our second atoll in The Tuamotus, Makemo. It is larger and has a more substantial village than Raroia, so we are looking forward to getting ashore and doing some exploring. Exiting the pass at Raroia was easy, the overnight passage was easy, entering the pass here at Makemo was easy (incoming tide, max 3 kt current), but tying up at the wharf was a bit challenging. This was our first time with this maneuver… we dropped the bow anchor and then backed into the wharf and tossed dock lines ashore to some guys who came to help us. The problem is that Exodus is so big and fat and has so much windage we were getting pushed sideways pretty good. With Alex’s help, we got everything secure and now I’m going to download weather to see if we want to stay here tonight or move to a protected anchorage. We are going to try to get some school work done before going in search of baguettes.
Love and miss you all,

-D.

At 5/21/2014 6:14 PM (utc) our position was 16°37.59’S 143°34.15’W

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Logbook – May 22, 2014 (Makemo Wharf)

Daily Notes

• Kid on the dock w/ flowers when we got up. Wanted to “change” for chocolate. Boys finished school early and played w/ kids all day
• T – visit to the pearl artist
• Dinner at the restaurant with s/v The Beguine and LC

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Email to family and friends dated May 22, 2014

Subject: Local Kids

We had a great first day here in Makemo, but the highlight had to be that Exodus and the dock around Exodus have become the hangout for all the local kids. They swam, played with our American football (Tim would throw it and they would try to catch it as they jumped off the dock), played with our surf boards and paddle boards, and we all tried our very best to communicate with what very little French we know. They even took the boys to play a game of soccer, and when they got back Brenden commented on how good they all were. Alex and Kyle are getting a lot of attention from the girls, of course, but they act like they don’t even notice. When we got up this morning there were a group of younger kids on the dock with flowers wanting to “change” them for chocolate. We will probably stay tied up here a couple more days so we can enjoy the baguettes and the kids, and then we will go explore more of the atoll.
Love and miss you all,

-D.

At 5/21/2014 6:14 PM (utc) our position was 16°37.59’S 143°34.15’W

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Logbook – May 23, 2014 (Makemo Wharf)

Daily Notes

• Squall after squall after squall. Tons of rain. Max 35 kts.
• T – bartered for engraved pearls.
• Boys – more soccer w/ local kids
• French Navy boat arrived
• T – spearfished off pier (No fish) w/ Victor and Jack (Mayor)

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Logbook – May 24, 2014 (Makemo Wharf)

Daily Notes

• No bread. Twice.
• T/boys – Wedding
• Rope swing day!

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Logbook – May 25, 2014 (Makemo Wharf)

Daily Notes

• D – first run since La Cruz. Found the cemetery. Lots of tiny graves.
• More rope swinging
• 3 hours of internet & lots of wine
• T/Steve/Paul – Dorado harpooning with Victor. AMAZING. Go Pro Videos
• Potluck on Exodus

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Logbook – May 26, 2014 (Makemo Wharf)

Daily Notes

• Last day in Makemo Village
• Girls take the boys’ shirts and clean Brenden’s room
• Watched the dancing in the evening again

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Email to friends and family dated May 26, 2014

Subject: Time to move on

Our stay tied to the wharf here at the village in Makemo is coming to an end. This has been our favorite village that we have visited, by far. We spent another day yesterday with all the local kids playing on Exodus and Lady Carolina, and amazingly nothing got broken or lost. Well, except for Lady Carolina’s pulpit, which got a bit bent when a large kid used it as a spring board. A couple times we had to remind them to not stand on the lifelines and not jump on the net, but overall they are a good group of kids, and I spent some time yesterday with some of the older ones reading the French for Cruisers book together. They would pick a phrase and ask me something in English and I would try to answer in French. They seem to speak French more often here than in the Marquesas, even when interacting with each other. In the Marquesas, we heard a lot of Marquesan. I’m not exactly sure what the native language here is called. They speak Tahitian, and a couple words they taught us they would say, “in Makemo” indicating it’s a local language, but I’m really not sure. Tim, Steve (Lady Carolina), and Paul (The Beguine) got a treat yesterday and went fishing with a local guy named Victor. They went spear fishing with him the other day, but yesterday they went out in his boat, which unlike the Mexican Pangas, is driven from the front of the boat. He didn’t bother with any rods and reels. What he does is follow the birds until he finds a Mahi Mahi (Dorado) and then he chases it until it gets tired. Then when he’s close enough he throws a harpoon at it. His success rate was amazing, and they came back with 4 huge Dorado. We have a few errands to run before casting off today including picking up some engraved pearls that the guys traded a bunch of stuff for, and of course stocking up on baguettes. I paid for about 5 hours of internet yesterday and got some photos and a couple movies uploaded, hopefully you’ve had a chance to see them.
Love and miss you all,

-D.

At 5/21/2014 6:14 PM (utc) our position was 16°37.59’S 143°34.15’W

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Logbook – May 27, 2014 (Makemo Wharf to Makemo Anchorage)

Passage Log Highlights

• 1040 Engines on
• Depart wharf
• 1125 P engine off
• 1405 P engine on
• 1428 Arrive Makemo anchorage

Daily Notes

• Anchor windlass blown fuses
• Potluck w/ Lady Carolina – late night talking politics and US bashing

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Logbook – May 28, 2014 (Makemo Anchorage)

Daily Notes

• B – cough & sore throat
• T/D/A – explore the beach
• Quiet night – French bread pizza & a movie

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Logbook – May 29, 2014 (Makemo Anchorage to Makemo NW Pass)

Passage Log Highlights

• 0842 Engines on
• 0853 Depart
• 0903 P engine off
• 1208 P engine on
• 1253 Arrive anchor near NW pass
• 1600 Engines on
• 1620 Re-anchor complete

Daily Notes

• Waited for a squall to pass before anchoring
• First anchored in the small lagoon
• T/A/Steve/Kyle – snorkel in the pass. B still sick.
• Decided to stay the night, moved anchor locations

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Email to friends and family dated May 29, 2014

Subject: Still at Makemo

So, we ended up staying one more day tied to the wharf at the village, and I’m so glad we did. When I told the local kids we were staying “a demain” (until tomorrow) they were so excited they hugged me, especially the girls who are “in love” with Alex, Brenden, Kyle, and Joel. It’s funny, they communicate this by making a heart shape with their hands. They wrote notes with lots of hearts on them and gave the boys silly band bracelets. They spent the day with me on Exodus helping me chop vegetables and teaching me French. One of the girls would say a phrase in French and then tell me, “repetez.” They told me, in French, that they wanted souvenirs from us because they don’t want to forget us. I told them OK I understood thinking I would think of some things and give them later. Apparently what I actually did was give them permission to go to Alex and Brenden’s rooms and pick out what they want. They each came out with two shirts, dirty and smelly I might add, but they didn’t seem to care. I felt so bad I had to stop them because since they’ve been growing the boys don’t actually have that many clothes, especially Alex. Oh, they pleaded with me to let them have shirts, so I dug around in Brenden’s cubby and found some (clean) older, smaller shirts and gave them each one. Another funny thing is when Brenden came back he asked if I cleaned his room. I guess the girls thought the legos needed to be tidied up a bit! The next day Carolina was able to dig out a shirt of Kyle’s and gave that to one of the girls too, they were so ecstatic.

When leaving the dock we had a little bit of drama… we had bow anchor down and were stern tied to the wharf and good fortune had it such that the wind was blowing dead astern, so theoretically it would be an easy departure. Throw off the dock lines (we had help on the dock for that) and then just get pushed by the wind over the anchor as we raise it. No problem, right? Well, Alex wasn’t being quite as careful as he should have been and he jammed the anchor bridal hook up against the bow roller and the windlass fuse blew. I’m at the helm, and Tim tells me we have to raise the anchor manually, so “just hold us right here.” Well, some might think that with two engines holding Exodus in precisely one spot would be easy. And it is, in very light wind conditions. But with huge windage and very little keel, once the wind is over about 8 kts we get pushed around pretty good. And this day it was blowing 15-20. So, I try my best but we do end up getting blown sideways a bit, so my great idea is to just turn, drive back to line we were on, and then face the anchor again. In the process of doing that, I wrapped the chain around a coral head. What a fiasco, Tim had to jump in the water to free the chain, and at this point I just turned us around to face the wind so once free of the coral head we just floated back bow to the wind and raised the anchor manually (with help from Steve who had jumped in the water and boarded Exodus) in a more normal wind orientation for anchor raising. So, I was ready for my rum right there, but we still had 3 hours of navigating through the coral heads to the next anchorage. I dipped into the Zaya for that safe arrival cocktail! It’s a nice spot, but not as nice as where we anchored in Raroia as we are much further from the beach without as much wind protection.

We are heading to the NW pass later this morning to dive the pass and may even leave for Tahanea as early as this afternoon.

Love and miss you all,
-D.

May 10-19, 2014

 We went just a bit off the beaten path in the Tuamotus, and we made landfall in Raroia. After the crowded anchorages in The Marquesas, it was a welcome change. It was amazing. The quintessential remote tropical anchorage. We arrived a day ahead of our buddy boats, so when we arrived, we were truly alone.

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Logbook – May 10, 2014 (Anaho to Raroia)

Passage Log Highlights

• 1255 Engines on
• 1300 Depart
• 1515 STBD engine off
• Port engine off
• 1928 Main (2 reefs) + genoa (1 reef)
• 2105 P engine on – 2205 off
• 2303 Main (2 reefs) + genoa (2 reefs)
• Min TWS – 9.6 kts E
• Max TWS – 20.2 kts E

Daily Notes

• Killed a bee. Not many bees, plenty of wasps. Tim bit on foot by wasp on hike in Fatu Hiva – stung by a bee in bed on the upper thigh/hip?
• Boarded by French Customs. Worried about alcohol quantities (didn’t declare everything in Atuona) OK. They only looked in bilges w/ finger holes
• 2 ft tuna
• Lots of squalls

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Email to family and friends dated May 10, 2014

Subject: Adios Marquesas

We are planning to leave Anaho around noon today (Marquesan time) for the Tuamotos. Our planned first stop is the atoll of Raroia, and we expect it to take between 3 and 4 days. We want to arrive on the lee side of the atoll where the pass is by Wed morning in order to make it through the pass at slack tide around 12:30. We’ll have the inReach on so you can track our progress and I’ll send another email if any plans change. Right now Tim is trying to find a leak in our dinghy and I just finished preparing passage food and I’m doing all the other pre-passage activies (testing EPIRB, getting sails ready, etc.) The boys changed the water maker filters and cleaned the sea water strainer and are currently trying to talk me into having the day off from school. They took yesterday off to go on a hike with Kyle and Joel to collect mangoes, and would you believe they came back with 92 nice green ones? We are trying to take extra fruit to the Tuamotus, because unlike the Marquesas it is not very abundant and we want to share with the locals. Tim, Steve, Carolina, and I hiked over to an organic farm yesterday and picked our own green beans, lettuce, radishes, and eggplant, and we also got some tomatoes and peppers that were already picked. The part of the hike back that was along a trail just off the beach was amazing and I regret I didn’t have my camera with me. White sand, blue water contrasted with dramatic black volcanic boulders. No, it wasn’t a quick trip to the store for veggies, but it was a journey worth taking.
Love and miss you all,

-D.

At 5/9/2014 1:57 AM (utc) our position was 08°49.34’S 140°03.89’W

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Logbook – May 11, 2014 (Anaho to Raroia)

Passage Log Highlights

• 0204 D–> T Main (2 reefs) + genoa (2 reefs)
• 1645 Main (2 reefs) + genoa (1 reef)
• Min TWS – 19.6 kts E
• Max TWS – 26.9 kts E

Daily Notes

• Day 2

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Logbook – May 12, 2014 (Anaho to Raroia)

Passage Log Highlights

• 0851 Main (1 reef) + genoa (full)
• Min TWS – 16.7 kts E
• Max TWS – 16.7 kts E

Daily Notes

• Day 3
• Canadia/Australian terms I like and have adopted: bloody, fruit & veg, runners, swimmers
• Dusk – caught pacific bonito – big – let it go – 2 ‘ – 15 lbs

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Email to family and friends dated May 12, 2014

Subject: Passage

Our passage to the Tuamotus has been a lumpy bumpy one, but we’re all hanging in there. Our first night we had winds in the 25-30 kt range, and then the whole second day was about 23-24 kts. Since then it’s calmed down and been pretty consistent 15-20. We still have one reef in the main and we’re still going 7.5-8 kts! The worst part is we have to keep hatches closed due to water splashing onto the deck, so it is bloody hot in the salon and cabins. We have made really good time, and we are on track to arrive tomorrow, a day earlier than originally planned. Unfortunately the rest of our pack slowed down early on, so they will all still arrive on Wed, so we will definitely be the first ones through the pass.
Yesterday was mother’s day, and we didn’t even know it, so Happy Mother’s Day to all of you special moms.
Love and miss you all,

-D.

At 5/12/2014 6:23 PM (utc) our position was 13°06.10’S 141°30.75’W

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Logbook – May 13, 2014 (Anaho to Raroia)

Passage Log Highlights

• 0400 P engine on – zero wind
• 0420 P engine off
• 0712 P engine on – 0745 off
• 1211 Engines on
• 1451 Arrival Raroia – East side
• Min TWS – 7.8 kts NE
• Max TWS – 13.5 kts E

Daily Notes

• Day 4
• 7am – most beautiful rainbow, full color, full arc
• Wind seems to die on the backside of a squall
• Low – later – then incoming
• High – earlier – then outgoing

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Logbook – May 14, 2014 (Raroia East)

Daily Notes

• Swapped propane to tank #2
• LC, TBV, Eleutheria arrived. Potluck on Exodus
• Guys – Coconut crabs

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Email to family and friends dated May 14, 2014

Subject: Raroia

We successfully made it to anchor yesterday afternoon. We sure aren’t in the Marquesas anymore… The Tuamotus are atolls, so gone are the dramatic tropical landscapes. Here it is basically a ring of low lying land and coral with a few palm trees. Gone are the black sand beaches and murky water. Here there is white sand and the water is crystal clear. We are the only ones here at the moment, and I don’t mean just out of our pack I mean out of anyone. When we were outside the pass we tried hailing anyone on VHF ch. 16 just to get the low down on the pass, and there was no one. We quickly mastered all three dangers of the fire swamp… getting through the pass, visually navigating across the 6 mile wide lagoon through the coral heads, and visually navigating through a pearl farm with strings of underwater buoys just dying to foul our props. Now we are sitting in a stereotypical remote tropical paradise with a slight breeze and water lapping on the swim step. It’s a bit cooler here having dropped so many degrees in latitude. Last night Tim and I hung out on the net (Exodus foredeck) after sundown and I was actually a bit chilled. The only downside are the flies, which are everywhere and are numerous. Jen, I wish you could be here, this is your turquoise water paradise. Well, except for the sharks.
Love and miss you all,

-D.

At 5/14/2014 5:00 PM (utc) our position was 16°06.24’S 142°22.67’W

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Logbook – May 15, 2014 (Raroia East)

Daily Notes

• Mini-pass dive – rapids, awesome snorkeling

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Logbook – May 16, 2014 (Raroia East)

Daily Notes

• Best snorkeling ever on a coral head (bombie)
• Short school day. Boys rope swing on LC. B empties LC bilge for Worthers candies
• Pleasant family dinner. B eats all the cous cous. Fat belly wars.

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Email to family and friends dated May 16, 2014

Subject: Snorkeling Bliss

(I am writing this Friday night, but most likely won’t transmit it until sometime on Saturday)

We have officially achieved snorkeling bliss. Today we snorkeled on and around one of the coral heads near where we are anchored and it was the most amazing snorkeling I’ve ever done (Including Grand Cayman, Colin). Water clarity was infinity. (OK, I’m exaggerating, but in a relative sense compared to Mexico, it may as well have been infinity.) I have now officially swam with sharks, ~3 ft black tipped reef sharks that want to have nothing to do with you, pretty anti-climatic. My favorite part were the giant clams with colorful wavy “lips” kind of like in a cartoon. One of the other boats here with us (The Beguine) went over to the pearl farm today and arranged for us all to go on a tour tomorrow, so that will circumvent school tomorrow. Looking forward to it.

P.S. In the middle of typing this, Steve (Lady Carolina) got on VHF and sang his Wind Turbine song. Yes, we have a lot of fun out here.

Love and miss you all,

-D.

At 5/14/2014 5:00 PM (utc) our position was 16°06.24’S 142°22.67’W

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Logbook – May 17, 2014 (Raroia East to Raroia SE)

Passage Log Highlights

• 0957 Engines on
• 1002 Depart
• 1119 Arrive SE anchorage

Daily Notes

• Caught a carron leure underway
• Long line of coral extending from shore outward just N of the “anchorage. We went around it. Lots of coral heads, not very good holding – we dragged the anchor when we backed down.
• Mini pass just to the N of the anchorage
• Tour of pearl farm before we moved anchorages. Thanks to S/V The Beguine.
• T/Steve – scouted for lobster while D/Carolina drank wine on Exodus

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Logbook – May 18, 2014 (Raroia SE to Raroia Near the Pass)

Passage Log Highlights

• 0857 Engines on
• 0901 Depart
• 1250 Arrive near pass on a bombie

Daily Notes

• Tim in the water as we dropped anchor on a bombie
• Pass dive x 3. Amazing visibility, fun riding the current. Tons of sharks, mostly black tip, some white tip, a few nurse sharks. Washing machine. Slack tide 1.5 hrs later than predicted.

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Logbook – May 19, 2014 (Raroia Near the Pass)

Daily Notes

• 0615 – hailed a vessel approaching the pass – s/v Good News
• D/Carolina/Boys – dive on a bombie
• T/Steve/Kyle/B – Hookah in the pass (B passed Steve’s hookah test, Alex’s tooth hurt)
• s/v Skabenga rolled in at dusk

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Email to family and friends dated May 19, 2014

Subject: Pass Dive

We did our first pass dive yesterday, and wow, what an experience. But first we had to navigate our way back across the atoll in less than ideal visibility and then try and find a spot to anchor near the pass. We thought we’d anchor near the town, which is about 2 miles from the pass and listed as an anchorage in the guidebook. But it was pretty deep and near shore, so we thought we’d look for something better near the pass. We didn’t find much, so we are actually anchored on small pinnacles (Lady Carolina on one, Exodus on another.) Tim dove in and inspected before we dropped anchor, and then he got back in the water when we anchored so he could place the anchor exactly where he wanted it. This is another example of how Alex and Brenden make us not a short handed crew, because we never could have done such a precision anchoring job without them. The wind’s blowing 15 knots and we have no protection from wind or fetch from across the 5 mile wide atoll, so it’s a bit bouncy. OK, on to the pass dive… We arrived at the pass in the dinghies pretty much right at slack tide, and once the current started up again (flowing into the atoll) we drove outside the pass, jumped in the water (each having our own line tied to the dingy), and rode the incoming tide all the way in. The visibility was amazing, and we saw all kinds of sea life. I was especially captivated by all the sharks. Not because I was afraid, but just because I’d never been so near so many at one time. I saw my first white tipped ones and even a nurse shark. I have to say Tim and the boys enjoyed the dive WAY more than I did, since they dive deeper and can hold their breath longer. But I had a lot of fun too, up until the end of the ride when we were in standing waves getting tossed around like a mixed salad. Anyway, it’s definitely one of those not to be missed experiences, and we’ll probably do it again today too. (Not sure when school is going to get done these days…)
Love and miss you all

-D.

At 5/19/2014 4:15 PM (utc) our position was 16°00.71’S 142°26.86’W